As Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences (GILD) launches its next generation Hepatitis C pill, Harvoni, Medicaid programs are bracing for another extraordinary wave of costs, with 70 percent of states implementing coverage restrictions.

Already, the cost of Gilead’s first generation Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, which costs $1,000 a pill and more than $84,000 for a course of treatment, has triggered 35 states to require prior authorization before Medicaid patients can get the drug, according to a report from Washington-based consulting...